Eckardt's return has Palatine soaring
It took more than seven weeks but Palatine finally eclipsed its season-opening score.
The Pirates scored a 158.8 to take first place Friday night at the Hawk Invitational that featured all five District 211 teams in Hoffman Estates.
Senior Matt Eckardt returned to all-around competition after sitting out two weeks with a neck injury and scored a 53.8 to take all-around honors.
"Finally all our hard work is paying off," he said. "What we've been working on over break and everything is starting to show now."
Palatine had a season-best 26.9 on parallel bars with Eckardt posting a career-high 9.7.
"We finally put a meet together and we got Matt back, which helped a lot," said Palatine coach Scott Hagel.
Conant took second place with a season-best 147.65, aided by the all-around contributions of sophomore Anthony Crivolio, who finished fourth with a 47.6.
The Cougars scored a season-high 24.1 on the high bar with Crivolio recorded a 7.0 after competing in the event for the first time this year.
"It feels good to finally get back into high bar again," Crivolio said after finishing fourth in all-around competition with a 47.6. "I did it for the team so we could get a better score and it's helping."
Clinton Martin posted a career-best 7.5 on high bar, while senior Jon Snyder (48.85) took second in all-around and freshman Steve Rink (48.45) finished third.
"The big pickup is on high bar," Conant coach Paul Kim. "We got the requirements and did really well on high bar. That was one of our focus points."
Fremd finished third after posting its third straight 130-plus score with a 133.1. Senior Keith English scored a career-high 8.2 on parallel bars as the Vikings notched season-best scores in that event (24.0) and high bar (17.9).
Sophomore Brandon Trostrud took fifth with a 45.4 in all-around competition and tied for third on p-bars with an 8.6.
"(Trostrud) has been creeping up in his scores," Fremd coach Tim Hamman said. "His vault and high bar (career-best 7.1) have helped."
Hoffman Estates finished fourth with a 129.7 and had a season-best 22.6 on rings with seniors James Lee (8.3) and Mark Rogalski (7.5) leading the way.
Schaumburg took fifth with a season-high 122.1 while setting season-bests on pommel horse (20.4), vault (24.4), p-bars (20.3) and tying its season-high on floor (25.4).
"We added some new skills this week," Saxons coach Howard Rubin said. "I think things are coming together a little bit better."
Rubin was particularly pleased with James Nguyen on rings (8.0), Steve Long on floor (8.9) and Tim Whelan on pommel horse (8.1).